(The Center Square) – One of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen is not thrilled that state lawmakers rushed to maximize the state’s Medicaid take from Washington.
Congressman Bryan Steil on Wednesday said the hospital assessment in the new state budget shows just how easy it is to game the Medicaid system.
“To me it shows you, on the national level, how this program was ripe for abuse in the first place,” Steil said in a radio interview. “Many other states were already doing this. And so it’s really showing you that there are many aspects of this program, inside Medicaid, which shows the explosion of growth where it was ripe for abuse.”
Republican lawmakers cut a last minute deal with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to spike Wisconsin’s hospital assessment from just over 1.5% to 6% as a way to recoup more federal money for hospitals.
The head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association said the maximization effort should be worth at least $700 million per year.
“Of course Wisconsin’s going to take all the money that it can get. Every other state does the same,” Steil said. “But at the end of the day it’s taxpayer dollars. It’s why broader and bigger reforms are needed inside this program to actually drive the funds to where it’s needed, and remove excess funds being spent at a period of time when the federal government doesn’t have the resources.”
Lawmakers in Madison insist the assessment increase and Medicaid maximization will not add anyone to state Medicaid rolls.
Steil is not alone in criticizing the state’s push to get as many Medicaid dollars as possible. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson was quick to criticize the idea as soon as the budget passed.
Steil said he hopes to be able to deal with Medicaid’s opportunities for fraud in another plan in the near future.
